Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Lase weekend I was able to attend the Saturday seminar held at the Riverton FamilySearch Library. One of the classes I attended was about Billion Graves, a new application created to collect and upload cemetery headstones. Below is the information about Billion Graves that is provided by FamilySearch.org.

Application makes it possible to search and display cemetery and burial information.

Volunteers

Application makes it possible for Volunteers to "Give Back" by contributing family history resources to be used by others.

Collect photos of the headstones in your local cemetery with our iPhone or Android camera applications. Then upload the mapped-out photos here. Transcribe information from uploaded headstone photos - then descendants everywhere can easily search for their ancestors. Search for your ancestors' graves using our easy search. You can access their headstone records, photos of headstones, and accurate locations of all the graves.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Last week I wrote about the name change from Footnote.com to Fold3.com. Along with the name change, the site is changing some too! On the official Fold3 blog, I found that the latest post answers those burning questions that we all are asking! What is happening?!!! Read the latest post by clicking on the above Fold3 blog link!

Friday, August 26, 2011

Listen to internet radio with Geneabloggers on Blog Talk RadioTonight is another great episode of GeneaBloggers Radio! If you haven't taken the opportunity to listen in, you really need to try it. Thomas MacEntee is the host and he does a really good job with the special guests as well as entertaining us! The program will start at 10 pm Eastern time, 9 pm Central time, 8 pm Mountain time and 7 pm Pacific time. The topic tonight is entitled Genealogy Back to School. The guests will include: Louise St. Denis of the National Institute of Genealogical Studies; Angela McGhie of the ProGenealogy Study Group; and Pat Stamm of the National Genealogical Society Home Study Course. As you can tell, the discussion will center around the educational programs available for genealogists and family historians. Thomas MacEntee is always full of surprises so I'm sure other topics in genealogy are bound to crop up! Tune in tonight and join the fun! "GeneaBloggers Radio is about the most fun you can have with your genealogy on a Friday night!" Those are Thomas MacEntee's words to live by!

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Genealogy Goes Prime Time, and It's Not Just for the Retired Anymore!
That was the message from the BYU Genealogy and Family History Conference held a couple of weeks ago on the BYU campus in Provo, Utah. Lots and lots of wonderful information and a huge syllabus to study!

The article was written by Laurie Snow Turner and published in the Deseret News. Read the full story and see if you don't agree with the title of the article...and the title of this blog post! The face of genealogy is changing...FAST

Friday, August 19, 2011

LINDON, UTAH -- (August 18, 2011) – Footnote.com, a premier destination for discovering family history records, today announced it will now focus primarily on offering the finest and most comprehensive collection of U.S. Military records available on the Internet. The site gathers the most valuable U.S. military records, photos and stories to help family historians and others discover and share the memories of those who served.

As part of this new focus, the name of the site will change from Footnote to Fold3. The Fold3 name is derived from the third fold in a traditional military flag folding ceremony which “is made in honor and remembrance of the veteran departing our ranks who gave a portion of his or her life for the defense of our country to attain peace throughout the world.”

Fold3 is the web’s premier collection and destination for original U.S. military records, helping people find and share more than 74 million images of historical documents and photos. These records include valuable collections from the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Civil War, World Wars I and II and America’s more recent engagements in Vietnam and elsewhere. Specializing in digitization of paper, microfilm and microfiche collections, Fold3 brings many never-before-seen historic documents to the web through patented processes and unique partnerships with The National Archives and other institutions. This combination of innovative technology and access to strategic partners provides subscribers with an easy way to search original documents and discover stories about the people, places and events in the conflicts that shaped America and the world.

“We have already begun expanding Fold3’s robust military collection to include new pension application files and draft cards,” said Brian Hansen, General Manager of Fold3. “It’s truly gratifying to help researchers easily discover at home what they previously could find only by traveling to an archive.”

Fold3’s significant collections illuminate history that was once hidden. For example, Fold3’s World War II photos, Missing Air Crew Reports and JAG case files include detailed information about the ordeal of Louis Zamperini, subject of the New York Times Best Seller, Unbroken. Similar stories about millions of service men and women lie undiscovered within the records available on Fold3.

Fold3 will continue to operate as a subsidiary of Ancestry.com, the world's largest online family history resource, which acquired Fold3 as part of its purchase of iArchives in 2010. In addition to connecting more closely to its military collection, the rebranding helps distinguish Fold3’s value as a highly complementary brand to Ancestry.com. Many family historians and genealogists may use Ancestry.com to find an ancestor who served in the military and then use Fold3 to discover the details of their service.

PROVO, UTAH (August 17, 2011)- Ancestry.com, the world’s largest online family history resource, today announced that both the images and indexes to the 1940 U.S. Federal Census will be made free to search, browse, and explore in the United States when this important collection commences streaming onto the website in mid-April 2012.

When complete, more than 3.8 million original document images containing 130 million plus records will be available to search by more than 45 fields, including name, gender, race, street address, county and state. It will be Ancestry.com’s most comprehensively indexed set of historical records to date.

Ancestry.com is committing to make the 1940 Census free from release through to the end of 2013, and by doing so hopes to help more people get started exploring their family history. As this census will be the most recent to be made publicly available, it represents the best chance for those new to family history to make that all-important first discovery.
“The release of the 1940 U.S. Census will be an exciting event for any American interested in learning more about their family history,” said Ancestry.com CEO Tim Sullivan. “By making this hugely important collection free to the public for an extended period, we hope to inspire a whole new generation of Americans to start researching their family history.”

“Ancestry.com is working to make the 1940 Census a truly unique interactive search experience...as well as the starting point to help new users easily get started on the world’s leading online family history resource. After finding that first family connection in the 1940 Census, we believe new users will be able to make amazing discoveries by searching our 7 billion digitized historical records, exploring the 26 million family trees created on Ancestry, and collaborating with our nearly 1.7 million subscribing members. We think that 2012 is going to be a great year of discovery for all family historians.”

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

﻿﻿﻿﻿If you missed the webinar on Google + hosted by Legacy Family Treeand featuring Paul Allen (founder of FamilyLink.com), Dan Lynch ("Mr Google," author of Google Your Family Tree and the blog http://GooglePlusforGenealogists.com) and Mark Olsen (Marketing Manager for FamilyLink.com ) you are in luck! The webinar is available to listen to until August 25th at Legacy Family Tree. This link takes you to the webinar page and you just need to scroll down to the archive section. This presentation will be the first one listed. After that date, you will have to buy the CD if you want to catch this presentation!

Monday, August 15, 2011

I wasn't able to attend the BYU Genealogy and Family History Conference this year, although I did volunteer at the BYU Family History Library booth with the vendors. That is always fun, but I really did miss the classes. I particularly hate to miss the keynote addresses that start off each day! So, I though maybe some of you might want to see what the keynote addresses were all about. Right now, two out of the three addresses have been posted here. Scroll down to the bottom and click on download. Stay tuned for the third address. It will be posted soon.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

My kids (ages 22 and 25) think that I spend WAY too much time on family history. I love to take video and label pictures for posterity! Of course, I try to include them, but let's just say that they are less than enthusiastic! Although, there was this one time when my son needed a cool family story for his storytelling class. I came through big time for him! A family story complete with dynamite and mangled body parts! It's a sad story, really, but it is part of my family. In the last few years, I have been able to gather and piece together pictures of this family that was forever changed by a few sticks of dynamite, false bravado, and some poor choices. When I look at those pictures, I can imagine being in the mom's shoes and how hard this time must have been for their family. I have lost a child so I know how it hurts! This family lost one child and another one was maimed for life. As I explain this to my kids, I don't think it sinks in because they are still so young and at that "I'm going to live forever!" stage. Russell Bangerter wrote an article this month in the Mormon Times detailing his thoughts about pictures and family history. Take the time to read Our Ancestors: More Than Just Names on Paper. It explains why I spend so much time doing what I do!

Thursday, August 11, 2011

FamilySearch has announced that they have updated their YouTube Channel. If you have never visited this FamilySearch Channel, you are in for a great treat! There are now different categories listed on the right and all of these videos are inspiring and informative. Here is one example of what you can expect!

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

It's that time again! The Utah Valley Technology and Genealogy Group meeting is Saturday, August 13, 2011 from 9am-noon. The featured speaker this month is Laurie Castillo, who will speak on "New FamilySearch Best Practices-Surviving in the Trenches."

Sunday, August 7, 2011

﻿I am so grateful to live in the area that I do. Family history information abounds, all we have to do is open our eyes! Today in the local newspaper (Daily Herald) there was an article about using barcodes to access your ancestor history! Wow! Wouldn't that be so cool? You have a little QR (QR stands for "quick response") barcode on your ancestor's headstone. When anyone visits, they just point their smartphone at the barcode and they will be linked to a website with pictures, audio clips, stories, and other things about that person! Can you imagine how this could work? I work diligently on my family history, but sometimes it seems that there is no one to share it with. I think that this is a great idea! The creator of this app is Hudson Gunn, president of Code_IT Barcodes. He envisions partnering with organizations like Ancestry.com and the LDS Church that could really push this information out there to everyone! Again, I'm not selling or recommending anything, just passing some very interesting information along to you! Only time will tell if this really is feasible and helpful or not, but I'm sure interested in this new application! Click on either Daily Herald link to read the whole article.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

My last post talked about a class by Randall Wright at the Provo Library on 3 Word Journals. I was dismayed to find that I couldn't attend the class because of a conflict! As I was looking at the Riverton FamilySearch Library class schedule for August, a hallelujah chorus started in my head! Randall Wright will be speaking on 3 Word Journals at the monthly seminar in Riverton! Can I say that I am excited? I am! I will go and I will enjoy and I will ask permission to share my notes! Here is the August 20th, 2011 seminar schedule!

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

I have really been thinking about journals and personal history lately. My last post addressed this, but I am still thinking about it, so here goes another one! I guess I am reviewing my life lately and I am wondering what will be written about me when I die. Did I make a contribution to society? Did I make a contribution to my family? What did I teach them? What did they learn from me? Will relatives down the line be interested in my life?

I went to the Provo Library today and saw this flyer! I am going to see if I can find this book. I am always interested in different ways to journal and write personal histories. In our fast paced world, the written word is getting the shaft in favor of short emails and text messaging. This book looks interesting, and no, I'm not being reimbursed or anything like that by companies that I mention. It's just me, wanting to let you know what is out there and around. With the Internet, many things that were once only in one place can now be accessed anywhere in the world. It's awesome!

If this looks interesting to you, you can learn more about it at www.3wordjournal.com. Again, I'm not promoting or being compensated for this, I just thought that you would like to know!